Book writing is fun and can be lucrative, but becoming an author is demanding work that requires focus, concentration and persistence. Everyone has a book inside them. Even if you never publish the story, you will have a great collection of thoughts and ideas that you can always return to in the future. There are plenty of book-writing programs, book-writing software and even grants for book writing on certain topics, so what are you waiting for? Here are several book-writing tips to help you get started and prepared for publishing.

1. Choose Your Topic Although you could conceivably write more than one book, think of the one you most want to “get out” of your brain. Select a topic about which you have some knowledge, and for which you are willing to conduct research to fill gaps. Possible topics include how-to subjects like how to get more organized or how to raise honest kids. You can choose from other genres too, like memoir, history and fiction. If you end up with a topic that is of interest to certain public groups, you will want to learn more about grants and funding for book writing. The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), along with many other government and arts organizations, offer grants to support valuable writing projects. Do an online search for grants to see if one is available for your topic.

2. Narrow The Focus

Now narrow the scope of your book. For example, if your book is about raising honest kids, will it cover kids of all age, or just those in preschool or some other age group? Clarify your boundaries in the book’s preface or introduction so readers will know what to expect.

3. Consider Readers

Who will want to read your book? Who is it intended to help? Answering questions like these will help you aim your writing at specific people, like moms of preschoolers, business people, or teenage girls. Some books appeal to the general population, but most are geared to smaller groups.

4. Develop Main Points

What will be your book’s main points? Try to limit your key ideas, insights or suggestions approximately to the number of chapters you plan to include, as these will provide natural divisions within the large topic to create smaller chapters.

5. Research

Now that you have a narrow topic, list of main points and an idea of your readership, start doing some reading of your own to find additional information about your topic.

You probably will be able to find useful books at the library or a local bookstore. Online websites might offer helpful information too. You could even interview experts who can contribute insight to your topic. Collect lots of information, knowing that you may not need all of it for the book. It’s better to have too much than too little.

6. Consulting Appropriate Sources

Make sure your sources are up-to-date. Going back no further than five years for most sources and 10 for classic sources, is a good rule of thumb. Naturally, there may be exceptions, but you should have a good reason for using an older book. Look for authors who are experts in the topic area and who have impressive credentials, including degrees, reputable research work and suitable publishers. Using newspaper quotes or magazine articlesis less professional, but such sources may be acceptable or even desirable at times.

7. Taking Notes

While consulting your sources or conducting interviews, take good notes in a readable hand or on your computer. Be sure to include a full citation that should be added to your bibliography or works cited section at the back of your book. Give authors full credit for referencing their work.

8. Organize Chapters

After listing main points and researching key ideas, start separating chapters into core elements that will be developed independently while meshing the whole at some point. Give each chapter a working title that you can change later, if desired. Each chapter will develop one of the main points of the book’s theme or topic. All should work together for a consistent flow of ideas that establish a bottom line for your book by the end.

9. Rough Draft

Use book-writing software to create a rough draft. Depending on the type of book you are writing, you can get software programs that let you type text right into the template that shapes your book in the prescribed genre. Many famous authors prefer to use software rather than write “from scratch” as they develop a rough draft of their book.

10. Second Opinions

After developing a rough draft, get book-writing tips from a professional whose opinion you trust. This could be someone who is an avid reader or familiar with the genre in which you are writing. If you are lucky, it could be a published author who is willing to give you feedback on your manuscript. If you have few people to ask, just about anyone’s opinion on your manuscript will be helpful.

11. Second Drafts

After getting feedback from an experienced author or reader, rewrite the original draft into a second, enhanced draft. You may not need to change every word of the original draft, but you will want to carefully consider all aspects of the writing and look for ways to make it better the second time around. You can lengthen, shorten, or just change the way parts of it read to make it more interesting, clearer or simpler.

12. Publishing Options

As you prepare to finalize your book manuscript, think about whether you want to self-publish the book or seek out a commercial publisher. Self-publishing lets you retain more rights over your work, but you will have to do more of the marketing tasks, too. Commercial publishing lets pros handle your book, but you will receive only a fraction of the profits, typically between five and twelve percent. Begin to think about these options while you complete the rest of the book writing process.

13. Editing

After completing a second draft, let the book sit several days or perhaps even a month. Look for a competent editor to review the manuscript and point out grammatical and syntactical errors in your writing. Correct these when the editor offers feedback.

14. Final Draft

After making the corrections, you are ready to read through the manuscript one last time. Check things like spelling, punctuation, grammar, and formatting. Make sure the manuscript looks professional. When you are satisfied, it’s time to submit it to commercial publishers or to self-publishing programs to prepare it for print.

15. Publish Your Book

Draft a query letter, which includes a brief description of the book, its length and your credentials for writing it. Send the letter by email or post to publishers who accept unsolicited queries. When you are invited to submit a sample chapter or two, do it promptly, although there’s no need to overnight the requested material.

Though the above steps may sound simple, they are time consuming and sometimes frustrating. Editing drafts and making revisions can feel tedious, and allowing the work to “sit” for awhile between certain stages is crucial. Following the above steps on book writing will help you produce a written manuscript in no time flat, but have patience while making your dream come true!

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